this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughanjones with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. lord frost, the man in charge of the uk's brexit negotiations, resigns citing concerns over the "direction" of borisjohnson�*s government. the dutch prime minister puts his country into a tough new lockdown, as the latest coronavirus variant spreads. translation: the netherlands are going to lockdown _ again from tomorrow. the netherlands is again shutting down. that is unavoidable because of the fifth wave that is coming with the omicron variant. another 90,000 covid cases are reported across the uk, as the mayor of london declares a major incident in the capital. and british holidaymakers are forced to cancel trips, as france imposes tight travel

restrictions on those arriving from the uk. hello and welcome to the programme. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has come under huge political pressure for its handling of coronavirus. now lord frost, the chief brexit negotiator, has resigned from the cabinet. in a letter to the prime minister, he has cited concerns over the direction of borisjohnson�*s government, particularly around the imposing of new restrictions. the former brexit secretary said he believes we need to "learn to live with covid", telling mrjohnson: he went on to say:

0ur political correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports. this resignation of lord frost is without doubt another blow to boris johnson, delivered right at the time the prime minister is at his weakest since coming to office. lord frost, a one—time diplomat, was brought in to negotiate a boris johnson's brexit deal. he sparred with michel barnier, shuttling back and forth to brussels. it helped mrjohnson secure the support of hardline brexit supporters in his party. the gap between us is quite significant. so, lord frost, on the left, helped secure mrjohnson�*s brexit deals and his win at the general election. he elevated lord frost to the cabinet. at that table recently, though, he's been arguing loudly against some of the prime minister's decisions, like the recent increases in taxes and spending, laying out what he said were his conservative beliefs in a recent speech. i personally will argue strongly as i can that

free market capitalism, low taxes, free speech and the maximum possible amount of economic and political freedom for individuals are the best choices we could make as a country. the noes to the left, 126. there were 100 tory rebels when parliament voted on the latest covid restrictions. lord frost too had been against more measures and a vaccine certificate in particular, so his objection to the direction the prime minister is taking things. three, two, one! coming after the shock by—election defeat for the tories in shropshire north this week, the timing adds to mrjohnson�*s woes. the pm's position has been damaged and he has lost a key to getting him into office and he looks more vulnerable than ever. damian grammaticas, bbc news. the daily telegraph's brexit editor, dia chakravarty, is following the story. here's her reaction. it has been a fairly

interesting piece of news. for those particularly interested in the brexit agenda. it has been interesting because particularly if you spoke to some people, there was a sense that in some voters, some donors and may be some backbencher mps who were refusing to come out against borisjohnson. 0rjoin the rebellion against him because there was a fear that if boris johnson left, lord frost's position might become a bit tricky. there was on the other hand another group of people who i was speaking to, and they were telling me that they were surprised that lord frost had lasted as long as he did last, because they were concerned that a lot of people who were supposed to have the prime minister's ear thought very differently about the brexit negotiations then lord frost. those other group of people

would avoid confrontation with the eu. this was a quote i heard, and this is was not lord frost's approach. it is also not as a surprise. it's not a surprise for those who knew lord frost or knows him, or knew his work within the cabinet. the whole deregulation agenda that he was supposed to approve was massively hampered by the net zero regulations coming in with the covid regulations, and just generally... regulations, and “ust generally... crosstalk i see, generally... crosstalk i see. so _ generally... crosstalk i see, so just _ generally... crosstalk i see, so just to - generally... crosstalk i see, so just to jump i generally... crosstalk i see, so just to jump in j i see, sojust tojump in there, because when most people resign, you expect it to be something to do with their main job, usually. we could've expected this regulation, saying there's whatever reason with the negotiator of the

northern ireland protocol. sounds like there could be an overlap between the reasons that he suggests and also the main role that he had with the northern ireland protocol talk about i think the protocol. did -la about i think the protocol. did -ia a about i think the protocol. did play a role. — about i think the protocol. d c play a role, but if you believe in certain principles, he was a cabinet mizzen minister so he had some roles. and you feel that the government's going in a completely different direction.— a completely different direction. ., ., direction. so, given that, how bi a direction. so, given that, how big a blow _ direction. so, given that, how big a blow do _ direction. so, given that, how big a blow do you _ direction. so, given that, how big a blow do you think - direction. so, given that, how big a blow do you think this i direction. so, given that, how big a blow do you think this is| big a blow do you think this is for borisjohnson? i big a blow do you think this is for boris johnson?— big a blow do you think this is for boris johnson? i think this is a big blow _ for boris johnson? i think this is a big blow for _ for boris johnson? i think this is a big blow for boris - for boris johnson? i think this | is a big blow for boris johnson is a big blow for borisjohnson as far as his exit agenda is concerned, but i think is a much bigger blow for those who did hope against hope that this current administration would at some point morph into a low tax, low regulation, standing up tax, low regulation, standing

up at the eu administration. thanks 22. , thanks to dia chakravarty. the spread of coronavirus is beginning to disrupt normal life in europe. the netherlands has announced a stringent christmas lockdown, in an attempt to prevent a new wave of covid cases. all non—essential stores, bars, restaurants and other public places are to shut from sunday under the new measures. essential shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies must close by 8pm. schools will close from monday and won't reopen until at least january the 9th when the lockdown ends. translation: the netherlands is again shutting down. it is unavoidable because of the fifth wave that is coming with the 0micron variant. 0ur correspondent anna holligan has the latest from the hague. these rules have drawn the dutch — these rules have drawn the dutch christmas present

preparations into disarray. all nonessential shops will be close _ nonessential shops will be close to _ nonessential shops will be close to 5am and they want to reopen— close to 5am and they want to reopen until at least the 15th ofjanuary, 2022. the dutch prime — ofjanuary, 2022. the dutch prime minister said this was in response — prime minister said this was in response to the omicron variant _ response to the omicron variant. they've been watching the cases — variant. they've been watching the cases in london especially across the uk. they say the health — across the uk. they say the health services, the hospitals here — health services, the hospitals here simply don't have the capacity— here simply don't have the capacity to deal with an influx of omicron cases. yet the government's critics say this is partly— government's critics say this is partly their own doing. also, _ is partly their own doing. also, the slow roll—out of the booster— also, the slow roll—out of the booster programme. throughout the day, — booster programme. throughout the day, people have been queuing _ the day, people have been queuing outside tour shot, ute slough— queuing outside tour shot, ute slough lawns have been singing people — slough lawns have been singing pebble -- — slough lawns have been singing people —— toy shops, beauty salons _ people —— toy shops, beauty salons. there have been queues outside — salons. there have been queues outside the covid testing centre _ outside the covid testing centre. a lot of people are hoping _ centre. a lot of people are hoping to escape to the

netherlands, to keep their holiday— netherlands, to keep their holiday plans and —— in tax. —— intact. restaurants can keep on serving — intact. restaurants can keep on serving takeaways. but the dutch — serving takeaways. but the dutch don't like chaos, so the fact that — dutch don't like chaos, so the fact that these new rules are being — fact that these new rules are being introduced at the last minute, _ being introduced at the last minute, a few days before christmas, really underlines the urgency of the situation here — the urgency of the situation here. ., the urgency of the situation here. . ., ~ ., a surge in cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus has been recorded in the uk. the number has gone up by more than 10,000 in 2a hours, the biggest daily increase so far. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, has declared a "major incident" because of concerns that emergency workers will struggle with rapidly rising cases. here's our health correspondent, katharine da costa. some vaccine centres like this one in north london are now open 2a hours a day as staff go all out to getjabs into arms. but the acceleration of boosters can't compete with a variant that's doubling every two days.

in london, omicron is already driving a huge wave of infections prompting this announcement from the mayor, sadiq khan. we are incredibly concerned by the huge surge in the omicron variant. over the last 2a hours, we have had the largest number of new cases since this pandemic began — more than 26,000. hospital admissions are going up, but also staff absences are going up by massive levels. so, i've taken the decision, in consultation with our partners, to declare a major incident today. it means that coordination between key public services will now be stepped up and enable london to seek further support from central government to address the pressures facing the city. it comes as scientific advisers on the sage committee suggest without further stringent measures very soon, we could see 1,000—2,000 hospital admissions a day in england in a fortnight, up from around 800 a day now, and there could be a peak of 3000 admissions

a day or more, similar to levels injanuary. when it comes to extra measures, sage government advisers say the earlier they're introduced, the less time they may be needed. they argue the biggest risk factor is crowded indoor mixing between many different groups, and suggest limiting how many people can mix indoors and some social distancing measures could be considered. timing is crucial, they say. delaying until next year could make the restriction is less effective and less likely to prevent considerable pressure on health and care settings. my view is, and i know this is something the government are going to have to seriously think about this weekend, is that a short, sharp two—week break now would and what that means is making sure people are socially distancing, is limiting

contacts, and going back to some of the restrictions we had earlier in the year. testing and isolating when infected are crucial to try and slow the spread of the virus. the vaccines minister has been to see how the royal mail is helping to ramp up deliveries of test kits to 900,000 a day. lateral flow devices are very effective in picking - up the omicron variant. as well as other variants, and it's the best way to make sure that they are free - of the virus before they do visit friends and family- this christmas, or go to large events. - we may get more data on omicron in a week or so, but huge and difficult decisions may have to be made before we have the full picture. to continue as we are or impose new restrictions to protect lives and the nhs. katharine da costa, bbc news. germany has become the latest european country to ban most travellers from britain to try to slow the spread of the omicron variant. german nationals and residents will still be allowed to enter from the uk. but they must have a negative test and quarantine for two weeks, regardless of their vaccination status. the measures take effect on monday. france has banned all

non—essential travel from the uk because of concern over omicron surging. those who are allowed to travel will have to go into quarantine until they get a negative test result. it's thrown france's tourism industry into disarray during the christmas season. our correspondent mark lowen reports from the alpine resort of chamonix. france learned of a land side of omicron in britain. i missed a few people in different families. probably won't be able to come out now, so i guess we're lucky.-

so i guess we're lucky. does it feel empty? — so i guess we're lucky. does it feel empty? a _ so i guess we're lucky. does it feel empty? a bit _ so i guess we're lucky. does it feel empty? a bit because - feel empty? a bit because normally. _ feel empty? a bit because normally, it's _ feel empty? a bit because normally, it's really - feel empty? a bit because normally, it's really busy. | normally, it's really busy. loads _ normally, it's really busy. loads of _ normally, it's really busy. loads of people from england and other countries like coming in but _ and other countries like coming in but don't feel that busy. 0ne — in but don't feel that busy. one and _ in but don't feel that busy. one and four tourists were british. their absence is clear. with some of the best or the season snow here for years, and the flights and ferries from the uk full, there was real optimism in the french resorts. but now, while the brits made it here and type out their luck, businesses are counting their losses. restaurant tour was hoping to quench his guest this weekend. now he's lit three employees go and fears business will drop by and fears business will drop by a quarter. how does it feel without the brits.— a quarter. how does it feel

without the brits. sad, and disappointing _ without the brits. sad, and disappointing and - without the brits. sad, and disappointing and angry. i disappointing and angry. everything is ready. we have everything right. but more we do, ithink... it's everything right. but more we do, i think... it's very confusing for us. do, ithink... it's very confusing for us.- do, ithink... it's very confusing for us. for those catering — confusing for us. for those catering for _ confusing for us. for those catering for the _ confusing for us. for those catering for the british - catering for the british market, the emptiness is devastating, and an ominous sign of what more could come. if this continues this season, it's going _ if this continues this season, it's going to _ if this continues this season, it's going to be _ if this continues this season, it's going to be a _ if this continues this season, it's going to be a big - if this continues this season, it's going to be a big loss- if this continues this season, it's going to be a big loss ofl it's going to be a big loss of earnings _ it's going to be a big loss of earnings it— it's going to be a big loss of earnings. it could _ it's going to be a big loss of earnings. it could be - it's going to be a big loss of earnings. it could be up - it's going to be a big loss of earnings. it could be up to. it's going to be a big loss of. earnings. it could be up to 50% of my— earnings. it could be up to 50% of my annual— earnings. it could be up to 50% of my annual earnings. - earnings. it could be up to 50% of my annual earnings. and - earnings. it could be up to 50% of my annual earnings. and i. of my annual earnings. and i guess— of my annual earnings. and i guess i'm _ of my annual earnings. and i guess i'm worried _ of my annual earnings. and i guess i'm worried it's - of my annual earnings. and i guess i'm worried it'sjust. guess i'm worried it'sjust going _ guess i'm worried it'sjust going to _ guess i'm worried it'sjust going to keep— guess i'm worried it'sjust going to keep doing - guess i'm worried it'sjust going to keep doing this. guess i'm worried it'sjust- going to keep doing this every winter — going to keep doing this every winter if_ going to keep doing this every winter it im— going to keep doing this every winter. if i'm losing _ going to keep doing this every winter. if i'm losing half- going to keep doing this every winter. if i'm losing half of. winter. if i'm losing half of my earning _ winter. if i'm losing half of my earning every - winter. if i'm losing half of my earning every year, - winter. if i'm losing half of my earning every year, i i winter. if i'm losing half of. my earning every year, i need to find — my earning every year, i need to find a — my earning every year, i need to find a different _ my earning every year, i need to find a different profession. | to find a different profession. perhaps — to find a different profession. perhaps this _ to find a different profession. perhaps this is _ to find a different profession. perhaps this is just _ to find a different profession. perhaps this is just a - perhaps this is just a christmas bullet. france is buying time and paying a high price —— blip. you are watching bbc news.

lord frost — the man in charge of the uk's brexit negotiations — has resigned from boris johnson's government. the dutch prime minister has announced a tough new lockdown from monday — as the latest coronavirus at least 31 people have died and many remain missing in the philippines after typhoon rai hit the country on thursday. the storm, which affected the country's southern provinces, packed sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour and dumped heavy rain triggering flash flooding and landslides. from manila, howard johnson reports. typhoon rai, the strongest storm to hit the philippines this year, destroyed homes, uprooted trees and toppled power lines, leaving more than 3 million filipinos without electricity, according to the government. but what made this storm so significant is the power it sustained as it inundated nine different islands with ferocious wind and heavy rain. river banks burst as storm surges wrecked coastal areas. more than 300,000 people

have been evacuated from their homes. the philippine red cross and the national coast guard lead the relief efforts, handing out food and temporary shelters. posts on social media today showed the popular tourist island siargao being battered by relentless winds as the storm made its first landfall. the governor there says the island has been totally devastated, estimating repair costs at more than $400 million. the typhoon has now left the philippines, moving westwards, over the south china sea. that was howard johnson reporting from the philippines. hong kong leaders have made a last—minute bid to get people to vote in the first election since beijing tightened its control over the territory. text messages were sent to voters ahead of sunday's poll — pointing out that it's illegal to call for a boycott

of the vote. most pro—democracy groups did not put forward candidates, undermining the election's legitimacy. at least 1a people have died in an explosion in the southern pakistani city of karachi. others were injured during the blast, which took place at a bank building. officers said it was caused by a gas leakfrom a sewage drain. witnesses told local media that people were buried in the debris. a large crane has toppled onto a street in the italian city of turin, killing three of turin, killing three workers and injuring two people passing by. italian media say the accident happened while the workers were setting up the crane for a construction site. it fell into the road between two buildings. the family of an indian student who was jailed after sharing a whatsapp message celebrating pakistan's win in a cricket match, has appealed for his release. shauqat ahmed ghani — along with two other muslim

students — has spent two months in prison, accused of "anti—national" behaviour. authorities say the arrest was in the interests of law and order, but critics argue that laws are being misused to silence free speech. rajini vaidya nathan reports. tears of pain and disbelief. her brother injailfor a crime she says makes no sense. 22—year—old engineering student shauqat ahmed ghani is accused of supporting pakistan instead of the national team india. translation: on 24th - of october, when there was a cricket match between india and pakistan, he and friends exchanged some messages, because of which they were picked up. as india's arch—rival won, they shared these messages to celebrate. this one shows appreciation

for pakistan's batsman. hid family are pleading for his release. his family are pleading for his release. translation: my heart is burning for my son. i i want to see him. every day, i'm struggling as i wait. i'm appealing to the government to help free him. the men watched the match at their college, and are now being held here at this high security jail not too far from the famous taj mahal. among the charges they face — sedition, a colonial era law that criminalises anything that could be considered antinational, but many say the law is being misused to stifle any criticism against the government. as they arrived for a court hearing, the muslim men

were heckled by locals, including some from right—wing hindu groups. even the city's lawyers are refusing to represent them. translation: this is a matter of national sentiment, - so we thought it best to refuse them legal help, they live in india yet support pakistan, so that hurt really us. this man saying anyone who cheered the pakistan team one of india's most powerful politicians... said anyone who cheered the pakistan team should face sedition charges. a spokesman said these arrests were necessary to maintain law and order. but others say it's leading to a climate of intolerance in the country. this muslim comedian spent 37 days injail this year after supporters of the bjp complained to police about hisjokes. he recently cancelled a string of shows after getting threats from hindu nationalists. how free is speech

in india today? if you are a politician, it's free _ if you are a comedian it's not free, it's costly. - if half of the people agree with myjoke and half- of the people don't agree with myjoke, then it's. a democracy, right? many feel that freedom of expression in today's india comes at a price. for those that feel they no longer have a voice, it's far from funny. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news. sport now, and in the english premier league, five games fell victim to covid restrictions. just one match survived and leeds may have wished it hadn't. they had eight first team players out through injury and suspension, and they lost 4—1. a defensive lapse let in gabriel martinelli for the opener — the midfielder scoring his second in as many games. he added another not long after benefiting from fine through ball from grant zaka

to double arsenal's lead. arsenal stay fourth, leeds 16th after three straight defeats. for nearly three months now, we've been telling you about the volcanic eruption taking place on the canary islands. in the last few days, the seismic activity appears to have stopped. the clean—up operation will be immense, as thousands of buildings were destroyed. but it's notjust people who were affected, as tim allman reports. translation: when we arrived here, we found l them crossing the lava. they approached us and we fed them and gave them water. we've also been checking if they have a microchip,

to find out if they have an owner, so we can return them to them. but not every creature on the island was so lucky. the bodies of wild animals and birds have been sent away for analysis as to a cause of death, whether it was rivers of red—hot lava engulfing everything in their path or the poisonous gases filling the skies above. all that volcanic magma and rock is cooling now, giant black scars crisscrossing the land. and then, there's the ash, so much ash. houses, cars, football pitches buried beyond site. translation: you can see there are roofs that haven't been - able to support the weight. there are metres of ash. some have begun the long, arduous process of trying to clear up the mess. but who knows how long that will take? there is hope this volcanic eruption will be declared officially over before christmas. one life gone, eight still to go.

tim allman, bbc news. vets in argentina have rescued a young turtle with a shocking amount of plastic found in its stomach. the small green turtle — around 35 centimetres long — had a total of 18 grams of plastic expelled from its stomach. it included fragments of nets, plastic caps, styrofoam, nylon, and cellophane. the turtle was found trapped in a fishing net. here in the uk, the brit awards have announced their first nominations since scrapping the best male and female categories and making the ceremony gender—neutral. the first nominations under the new system actually have delivered the most female nominees in more than a decade, with adele, olivia rodrigo and dua lipa all in the running for multiple prizes. adele ties with ed sheeran, and rappers little simz and dave for the most nominations. good luck to all of them.

that's it from me. get me on twitter at @lvaughanjones. i'm lewis vaughanjones and this is bbc news. bye—bye. hello there. the weather is stuck in some sort of a rut. a lot of dry weather around, but a lot of grey weather, too, thanks to this area of high pressure and the low cloud trapped beneath it. however, there's been some sunshine around. i think sunday is looking sunny again across more northern parts of the uk. further south, it will stay rather grey. here it is, the high pressure, sitting to the north of the uk. barely any isobars on the chart around the uk, so that means winds will be light. fresher across southern england and through the channel. where we have the cloudy skies, lows of 4—7 degrees. really cold under the clearer skies. scotland, northern england, these are town and city temperatures. in rural spots we could be as low as —7 or —8 celsius. a really cold start to sunday. some freezing mist and fog around, some fog through

the central belt of scotland. some sunshine as you can see, that's stretching down into north—western parts of england. wales doing pretty well in the sunshine, parts of south—west england. maybe northern ireland seeing some sunnier spells than we've seen of late, so not bad here. but eastern, central and eastern england, rather grey, drab, gloomy, some mistiness and a little bit of drizzle here and there and it's going to be a chilly day wherever you are. through sunday night, we hold onto a lot of cloud generally. clearer spells further north and west mean it will turn frosty again with some freezing mist and fog patches, but temperatures holding at around 3—7 degrees where we have the cloud and it will be breezier along the north sea coasts. into monday, maybe some subtle changes. i think many holding onto the cloud, but we could see some clearer skies or some sunnier breaks appearing across central and eastern england. parts of southern england haven't seen the sunshine for a week or so now, so that will be a welcome change. the best of the sunshine across the north of the uk. wherever you are, it's going to be chilly, whether you have the grey,

gloomy skies or the sunshine. the run—up to christmas has been giving us a headache. at the moment, it looks like we could see this area of low pressure try to push in from the atlantic. that will have some weather fronts in it, some rain bands and slightly milder air which will push into the south and west. colder air will want to continue to dig down from the north—east. we're in a battle ground between these air masses around the christmas period. it looks like the upcoming week to start with will be chilly and bright, and then it will turn more unsettled around the christmas period. with some cold air, we could see some sleet and snow in places.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the brexit minister, lord frost, has resigned with immediate effect. he said in a letter to the prime minister that he had concerns about the government's direction of travel, and was sad that the unlocking of covid restrictions had not been as irreversible as promised. the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, has announced a stringent christmas lockdown in an attempt to prevent a new wave of omicron covid cases. all but essential shops and stores in the netherlands will close until at least mid—january as well as schools and colleges. rising concern about the rapid spread of the omicron variant in london has prompted the mayor, sadiq khan, to declare a major incident in the capital. the latest daily figures show the uk recorded another 90,000 coronavirus cases and 125 deaths in the latest 24—hour period.

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